Aug. 10 (Bloomberg) -- This time last year Nick Candy’s
Challenger 605 business jet was kept busy flying the U.K. real
estate magnate to destinations across Europe.

In the summer of 2012 the Bombardier Inc. aircraft has made
fewer trips as Candy takes time out in London to watch the
Olympics. Other corporate jets are seeing less action as the
games deter overseas business people from visiting Britain.

Airports including Oxford and Farnborough report fewer
business flights, and London Heathrow, Europe’s top hub, has
banned private planes following the closure of airspace above
the capital for the duration of the games. While Olympic events
such as the opening ceremony and men’s 100 meters final have led
to traffic surges as VIP and celebrity visitors including
Madonna and Brad Pitt fly in, that’s brought complications as
aprons become crowded and turnaround times come under pressure.

“To some extent the aviation community has shot itself in
the foot by implying that it was going to be so challenging and
constrained,” said James Dillon-Godfray, commercial director at
Oxford airport and Battersea heliport. “The volumes of business
aircraft and executive aircraft that were predicted two or three
years ago are just not happening.”

‘Armed Interception’

Britain’s Civil Aviation authority anticipated a maximum
5,000 extra private aviation movements in southeast England
during the two weeks of the games, up 33 percent on 2011. The
real increase may be about 20 percent, Dillon-Godfray estimates.

Flights above London are restricted to the police, armed
forces, emergency services and an Olympic-broadcast helicopter,
with infringements triggering prosecution or even “interception
by armed military aircraft,” the CAA says. London’s skies are
being patrolled by Royal Air Force Typhoon jets and Puma
helicopters, backed up by six surface-to-air missile batteries.

Some 32 airports across southern England, extending as far
from London as Coventry, are also having to coordinate takeoff
and landing times to avoid overcrowding along flight-paths that
have themselves been redrawn for duration the games.

Battersea, London’s premier heliport, is operating only
after authorities were persuaded that it posed no security
threat, according to General Manager Simon Hutchings, who says
the U.K. aviation industry has “mixed feelings” about the games.

Bookings Slump

From July 14 to Sept. 12 no flights are permitted within
London east of Battersea Bridge, according to the heliport’s
website. Prior to the Olympics, choppers were able to serve the
Vanguard Helipad south of the Canary Wharf financial district.

RotorMotion, which operates three AgustaWestland AW109
helicopters based at Redhill, six minutes by air from Battersea,
has only three bookings for August after anticipating dozens of
extra flights, according to Operations Manager Sue Spencer.

“We thought ‘great, the Olympics are coming, we’re going
to be flying our socks off,’” she said. “But the traffic we are
picking up is nothing like we hoped. We are very disappointed.”

Like other U.K. helicopter companies, RotorMotion operates
“flat out” during sporting events such as the British Formula
One grand prix, Spencer said, adding that the realization that
there would be no dedicated Olympic helipad came as a blow.

Flight plans must also be submitted four hours in advance
and everyone on board must have photographic proof of identity
that matches the names on the roster. That’s been a “shock to
the system” for helicopter operators which trade on their
ability to go where they want, when they want, and typically
employ visual flight rules -- following railway lines and
motorways -- and aren’t required to supply plans, Spencer said.

Boat Link

Still, at Battersea the boost from Olympics traffic has
compensated for the loss of some regular custom, with 276 more
flights scheduled during the main games than a year earlier. The
number was initially swelled by bulk bookings, supplemented by
additional demand as wealthy sports fans make side trips.

The heliport -- bought by brothers David and Simon Reuben
for about 25 million pounds ($39 million) in February -- is
offering river-boat services to clients wishing to go further
east and inconvenienced by the flight ban. Vessels provided by
Water Chariots can reach the Olympic Park in about 70 minutes,
though interest has been limited, according to Hutchings.

“We’ve remained open but we’re certainly not as flexible,”
he said in an interview at the heliport, located next to the
Thames about three miles upstream from parliament. “Normally we
can give these people flexibility and meet their needs, so I was
a bit concerned people might defer their business travel.”

Missed Chance

Dan Foster, general manager of air traffic services at TAG
Aviation Holding SA’s Farnborough airport, said business flights
that usually constitute about 35 percent of aircraft movements
have been “totally confused” by a combination of the Olympics,
last month’s air show and the Islamic month of Ramadan, which
has reduced the number of flights from the Middle East.

“Overall we’re about the same as last year, maybe a couple
of percent down,” Foster said. “Those principals who might
have come across in Gulfstream Vs may have come on scheduled
flights because they perceived it was too busy to fly privately.
We suspect some sponsors also chose to take scheduled flights.”

Heathrow airport, which operates close to capacity, opted
to close to private and charter planes to ease operational
pressure during the games, spokesman Richard Scott said today.

Heathrow Stampede

BAA Ltd., the hub’s owner, is making final preparations for
Monday, the day after the closing ceremony, which may break
departure records as people who arrived for the Olympics over
the space of several weeks seek to leave in just a few hours,
among them about 15,000 athletes, officials, sponsors.

Competitors will be able to check in their bags before
leaving the Olympic Village and on arrival at Heathrow will use
a special Games Terminal with 31 desks and seven security lanes.
About 6,000 people will use the temporary facility on Monday and
around 8,000 in total before it closes on Aug. 15, BAA says.

One area in which the Olympics have provided a boost for
business aircraft has been sales, said Steve Varsano, who runs
an auto-style jet showroom near London’s Hyde Park Corner, with
visitor numbers swollen by wealthy individuals, games sponsors
and sports officials keen to view the latest models.

“We’ve seen American, Chinese and increasingly Russian
customers, as well as Brazilian government officials who’ve come
to look around before the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics,” he
said. “They are in town to see how London is handling things.”

Property developer Candy says people who left Britain or
postponed visits overestimated the impact on ground transport of
restrictions such as Games Lanes while failing to appreciate the
chances to seal deals through Olympic-related hospitality.

“People were scared they wouldn’t be able to move around,
but I honestly think it would take longer to get to Farnborough
on a normal Friday,” he said in an interview. “Over these two
weeks we will have done four sales, which is 100 percent due to
the Olympics. I think they’ve missed an opportunity.”

For James Reuben, son of David and an investor in the
family’s airports, the real test will be if the games encourage
repeat custom. “We are seeing people fly in who haven’t been
inclined to use Oxford or Battersea before,” he said. “That’s
the driver for us -- to showcase our investment to the world.”